The album was recorded live at Panther Hall in Fort Worth over two nights in July 1966 with Nelson backed by Johnny Bush on drums and Wade Ray on bass, although producer Felton Jarvis had Chip Young overdub guitar parts and steel guitar fills in RCA’s Nashville studio. Despite the low sales of his tepid RCA albums, which were given the Nashville Sound treatment, Nelson enjoyed a loyal fan following his home state of Texas largely on the basis of his freewheeling live shows. Like his friend and future fellow outlaw Waylon Jennings, Nelson was covering the Beatles during this period, and Country Music Concert contains his version of "Yesterday". During the introduction Nelson jokes: The album also includes the chilling “I Just Can’t Let You Say Goodbye,” one of the most violent songs Nelson ever penned. According to biographer Joe Nick Patoski: Nelson would grow increasingly irritated with RCA’s policy of only allowing Nashville studio musicians to play on recording sessions. He later recalled, "The music I played on the road, the music I’d cultivated with my band, had vitality. It was live music played for live people. I knew how to entertain a crowd for two, three, even four hours at a stretch...They lived in the now...Onstage, I was in charge. But in the studio, I wasn’t in charge and consequently the now escaped me. In 1976, RCA reissued this album as Willie Nelson Live. The reissue left off "Night Life", but added "I Gotta Get Drunk", a studio recording made three years after the release of this album. The song was remixed to include audience sounds not present on the original recording. In 1998, Bear Family Records reissued "Country Music Concert" in its original format, along with three bonus tracks not on the original release: "I Love You Because", a jazzy take on Hank Williams' "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight", and "I'm Still Not Over You"
Reception
Jim Worbois of AllMusic states, “This is an interesting album chronicling an early show by Nelson. From time to time, the audience will shout song titles, and he actually talks between songs. While many people don't like live albums, this is actually more fun than some of his later live records.”
Track listing
All tracks written by Willie Nelson, except where noted.
